KFC Australia’s brand new ‘Australian-first’ concept store

Fast food restaurant KFC Australia has opened a brand new concept store, with the first one being in Parramatta in Sydney’s west.

With a custom menu including burgers, wraps and bowls, KFC Australia said the concept store has been designed “to meet the evolving expectations of urban, working professionals”. A small restaurant setting fitted out with wood highlighting, new imagery and a fresh design – the new dining experience is being trialed in Parramatta, joining Church Street’s bustling food precinct.

KFC Corp., has its global head office in Louisville, Kentucky. It is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain. There are more than 18,000 KFC outlets in 115 countries and territories around the world serving some 12 million customers each day. With over 600 stores in Australia, KFC Australia owns and operates 160 stores with the remainder owned by a community of over 60 franchisees. KFC Australia employs around 30,000 Australians and serves more than 2 million customers weekly.

Smaller menu with “core favourites”

Nikki Lawson, Chief Marketing and Development Officer for KFC Australia, said she was excited to bring an entirely new kind of concept to Parramatta locals and Sydney-siders.

“Our existing KFC menu is designed to appeal to the broad Australian population – in some locations, such as our Church Street store, where the customer base is predominantly working adult Australians, we wanted to trial a smaller menu more targeted to their needs,” Ms Lawson said.

“For this reason we have reduced the menu to some core favourites and added a few additional items that we believe will hold appeal to this audience,” Ms Lawson said. “These new items bring the great taste of KFC to life with new ingredients such as red quinoa, jalapeño sauces, basmati rice and corn salsa,” she said.

“So while the store has some new taste combinations, it is still distinctly KFC at its heart, emphasising great tasting food, freshly prepared in store to our unique recipes,” Ms Lawson said.

Application for liquor licence

KFC Australia said it has submitted an application for a liquor licence to provide a small selection of beer and cider to customers who dine-in at the new concept store.

The application is currently under review with the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing. Should the application be approved, adult customers will be permitted to have one drink per meal for in-store dining only. KFC Australia said it will not be seeking to obtain a liquor license for any existing KFC stores.

Possibility for concept store expansion

Should the Parramatta trial be successful, KFC Australia said it would look to open a small number of concept stores in other urban-style locations in Australia.

Aaron Hedi, Restaurant General Manager at KFC Australia’s new concept store said he was looking forward to welcoming Parramatta locals and workers.

“I’m excited to see how our customers will respond to the new concept,” Mr Hedi said. “I grew up in the Parramatta area and have been involved in developing the look and feel of the store. We’ve tried to make it as local as possible, and we’ll be adding more personal touches to the experience so that we’re truly part of the local community,” he said.

The store is located at 277B Church Street Parramatta and will be open daily from 11am to 9pm.